


Koko

by Soap_Lady



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Family Fluff, Freeform, Gorilla Is Best Dad, no beta we die like women
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-17
Updated: 2020-02-17
Packaged: 2021-02-27 20:07:25
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,921
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22771477
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Soap_Lady/pseuds/Soap_Lady
Summary: A former French Special Forces officer needs a new job after an IED damages his vocal cords. He finds one as a bodyguard working for the Agreste Family.
Comments: 60
Kudos: 238





	Koko

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lenore of Raven](https://archiveofourown.org/gifts?recipient=Lenore+of+Raven).



_ Paris, France. Twelve years ago. _

The tall dark-haired woman looked from him to his resume. “Very impressive, M. Dupres.”

He nodded and grunted to show he was listening. She sat down and looked up at him. She pointed to the chair on the other side of her desk. “Please, sit down.”

The large man realized he’d been standing at attention the whole time she’d been interviewing him. Twenty years in special forces left him with a few bad habits. He grunted and sat down.

“So you’re trained in both firearms and hand to hand combat, correct?”

The woman was rather beautiful in a cold sort of way and much too young to be the assistant of the world’s premier fashion designer. When she’d let him into the mansion he’d thought she was older; her air of competence made her seem so.

“Do you have a valid passport and driver’s license?”

A nod.

“Hmm. French special forces. An IED permanently damaged your ability to speak?”

Nod.

The woman muttered something under her breath about “keeping secrets should come naturally then” and stood. 

“M. and Mme. Agreste will want to meet you. Wait here.”

He waited, forcing himself to relax and stand at ease. He heard a door clack open and turned as two people approached him.

The man was tall and slim, as stoic as himself, but colder, arctic blond. The woman was also tall and slim but radiated the warmth of a miniature sun. She carried a small blanketed bundle in her arms. The large man was reminded of Oberon and Titania from Shakespeare. They were the Summer and Winter Court and balanced each other. The man’s cold expression even thawed a bit as the sunny blonde took his hand.

“M. Dupres,” the tall man said and the woman gave him a little wave. He grunted and nodded back.

The man adjusted his glasses and looked down his nose at the former soldier. “Your resume and references are impeccable but my wife insists on one further test before hiring anyone for this position.”

“Forgive a mother her little quirks,” the woman smiled but her eyes pierced him.  _ Don’t screw up,  _ they told him.

He nodded and she unwrapped the bundle to reveal a toddler who was rubbing the last remnants of sleep out of his eyes. The boy greatly resembles his mother, large green eyes staring at the large man, in awe. The little blond seemed fascinated by him but completely unafraid, like a curious little lion.

His mother set him down on the ground and the child took a few unsteady steps towards the large man then stopped. The man tried to see the situation from the boy’s perspective. He must not have seemed too scary when his mother was holding her little cub but now having someone roughly the size of a gorilla tower over him must have been mind-blowing for a two-year-old.

The man suppressed a sigh and slowly and carefully crouched in front of the toddler, trying to make himself look as small and harmless as a trained soldier could.

He waited patiently until the boy once again started to move toward him, unafraid. The man held out his hand to the child and the toddler grabbed his thumb. Both of the boy’s tiny hands barely wrapped around his appendage but the toddler smiled up at him and the man felt his heart melt and expand just a little. Just enough for the golden cub to worm his way inside.

His cold new employer’s lips curled up into a thin smile. “Welcome aboard, M. Dupres.”

_ Six years later. _

Adrien was now eight years old and according to his father, old enough to join the family business. The bodyguard wondered why his employer thought a child needed a job but he wasn’t paid to ask questions. He earned a tidy salary ferrying the little family around Paris, guarding them in public and on one memorable day, teaching manners to a group of thugs in black who tried to scale the wall and kidnap the boy in the hopes of a fat ransom.

“This was far from the first time,” Nathalie, the assistant, confided in him. “People tried to kidnap the boy as an infant. The heir to the Agreste name is worth a small fortune. You can understand why his parents are so careful.”

The man nodded but didn’t believe the boy was a potential threat’s only target. Every now and then he’d see the couple putting things into or taking things out of a large safe behind a painting. Their glances were furitive and he was careful to never get caught staring. Valuable jewelry or rare antiques no doubt. It didn’t matter as long as they weren’t breaking the law. He told himself he wouldn’t care about that either as long as the little cub was happy.

He forced himself not to smile as the boy climbed all over him in between shots, laughing the whole time. The photographer called the boy back over and he reluctantly left the large man’s shoulders. The bodyguard walked the perimeter of the park, making sure reporters or perverts weren’t hiding in the bushes or behind the merry-go-round. Not again.

Finally the work day for the young boy is done and the man escorts his charge to the car. The cub is babbling about how his cousin Felix is coming over and so is Chloe and they’re going to have a sleepover.

_ Four year later. _

Mme. Agreste is sick, very sick. She smiles and plays with her son and snuggles her husband but her eyes have dimmed, her pallor concealed by cosmetics. Everyone is careful not to speak of it in front of the cub but M. Agreste looks more sternly worried every day and although Nathalie hides behind her professional demeanor the bodyguard spots her looking helpless at another of the lady of the house’s dizzy spells. Eventually the boy catches on and although he still excels at his lessons and modeling he rarely smiles unless a camera is on him.

He knows the woman is dying. He’s seen far too many of his comrades die not to recognize the signs. Some of them were like Mme. Agreste, laughing and joking in the hopes it would make everyone around them feel better. She didn’t seem to realize the thought of losing their miniature sun’s light and playful spirit made them feel worse. Adrien was too kind to ever bring it up.

Sometimes he hears his employers speaking in hushed voices about a book, a cure, and perhaps returning to Tibet. He doesn’t understand what is going on but he spends what extra time he can with the boy, lending him comic books and buying him anime for his birthday. Sometimes the two of them sit side by side and watch One Piece.

Everyone else is preoccupied with Mme. Agreste and while he understands he can’t help but be a little angry about why his parents almost neglect their only child.

_ One year later. _

Adrien is barely thirteen when his mother disappears and his employer is too cocooned in his own grief to comfort his cub. Nathalie stays with her employer, keeping him plied with food and caffeine. There’s work to do, a collection to complete. Deadlines and expectations and responsibilities; no one will accept grief as an excuse.

Rationally he knows neither of them mean to be neglectful. He knows his employer adores his son and wants him to be happy. Anger is irrational but he can’t help but be furious his little cub is hurting. The boy lost his mother and in some ways, he lost his father as well.

He learns from one of the maids the boy isn’t eating so he goes to his room with Adrien’s favorite dinner and a Miyazaki movie the boy is fond of.

The man finds Adrien mooning over the screensaver of him and his mother. The cub’s eyes are wet and red. He carefully sets the food and DVD down and wordlessly opens his arms. The boy doesn’t hesitate; he flies into the large man’s arms and sobs, howls, beats his bony fists against the wall of muscle. The bodyguard just awkwardly pats his back until the tears cease.

“Thank you for bringing me dinner,” the boy sounds raspy, his eyes dead. Still he doesn’t forget his manners. He’s a good kid.

He stands at attention and watches the boy eat then takes the empty tray.

_ Six months later. _

  1. Agreste and Nathalie are up to something. He knows because the hairs on the back of his neck stand up when he passes his employer’s office. It’s an early warning sign that saved his life in Iraq. He doesn’t ignore it.



Adrien is chafing under his workload. He fences and is learning Chinese. Every minute is scheduled for him. Clearly his father doesn’t want the boy to have any free time to think. Otherwise he might notice his father is plotting something.

The bodyguard worries his employer is planning something illegal but he can’t, won’t leave. The cub needs him. He needs to be protected and if the worst happens he’ll need someone by his side.

_ Six months later. _

That sneaky little rascal is a sly fox, not a golden cub.

Adrien got past him and tried to go to a public school. His bodyguard could sympathize but the boy was interfering with his job and that was to keep the boy safe. The kid was lonely and isolated and didn’t appreciate being smothered. He was only able to catch him when his charge stopped to help an elderly man who had fallen. As exacerbated as he was, he felt a twinge of pride in the boy.

_ One month later. _

Just because he was nearly mute, didn’t make him dumb. 

His employer seemed to think so, as did Nathalie. Neither realized how obvious they looked, conspiring together. He could also see how obviously the assistant was in love with her boss.

Adrien treated him with more respect but was blatantly slipping his leash and sneaking behind his back. And the boy had expensive looking new jewelry he hadn’t gotten from his father.

The cub was tired all the time and not from school. He disappeared when akuma attacked. The cub’s father and caretaker were blind but he wasn’t.

He just wished his charge would trust him enough to confide in him.

He was good at secrets.

_ One year later. _

Adrien was finally allowed to date.

The girl’s name was Kagami Tsurugi. Her mother was a business associate and “friend” of his employer but the bodyguard was sure the friendship was one-sided. He noticed his employer had no real friends because he didn’t care about anyone outside his family except for his assistant. His assistant who was now having dizzy spells. Until she wasn’t.

The Tsurugi girl was stoic to the point of coming across as cold. He prided himself on being able to read faces. She clearly cared for his not so little cub. He seemed to care for the girl as well, even though sometimes the cub sighed and the bodyguard pretended he’d never seen Adrien’s Ladybug screensaver.

It was a shame Adrien couldn’t date the hero. She could help keep the boy safe, the girl was a tigress.

Miss Tsurugi seemed capable of defending the boy she dated. She was competent and confident but a bit...what was the right word? Controlling? Rigid in her thinking? The two enjoyed each other’s company and it was good for Adrien to have someone in his life who understood the pressure he was under and the desire to rebel.

Still, and he tried not to admit it, even to himself, he thought the pretty girl with the pigtails would be a better match. She might have seemed like a lamb; timid and hesitant, but he sensed her inner lioness.

Well, they were all young. Time would sort things out.

_ One year later. _

Tomoe Tsurugi has decided to move back to Japan and that her daughter would be better off with a traditional Japanese boy.

The tigress and his cub’s relationship had been strained lately but the boy was still devastated.

He snuck in the boy’s favorite snacks and when he saw the boy crying once again he opened his arms and his charge flew to him.

He gently patted the boy’s back and waited until the teen ate something before leaving. He wanted to tell him the hurt would fade.

_ Two years later. _

Graduation!

His little cub, no, his young lion was graduating lycee! He was supposedly on duty but he couldn’t help taking a few pictures as his heart filled with pride. If anyone noticed the small tears pooling in the corners of his eyes they were smart enough not to say anything. Adrien had graduated top of his class, like his little pigtailed friend. She had gotten into a top fashion university. His young lion wanted a degree in Physics. His father threatened to cut him off but the boy had a trust fund from his mother’s parents and more or less told the man to bring it.

The cold-hearted bastard didn’t even bother to attend, sending Nathalie with a tablet instead. The woman gave him a small but proud smile as they watched their charge graduate and nearly disappear under a pile of happy classmates.

_ One year later. _

Adrien was now in uni and he still was his driver and bodyguard but living away from home meant the young man had a bit more freedom. He knew his employer wanted him to spy on the former model and he also knew if the man fired him Adrien would pay him with his own money.

The two had grown close and although he knew it was dangerous for a bodyguard to grow attached, he didn’t care.  _ He  _ had taught the boy how to shave and comforted him when he lost important people and kept the young lion’s open secret.

_ Six months later. _

It was official. His cub was a full-fledged lion.

The young man had bought his first car and first house. He wouldn’t stop talking about how he wanted to have his best friends over for a housewarming party once everything was ready.

The bodyguard went with his charge, now his employer, to sign paperwork. The car and real estate agent had taken one look at the pretty blond and smiled with greed at the thought of fleecing him. The man felt angry on the young man’s behalf and used his height and size to advantage as Adrien carefully poured over the contracts for loopholes before signing.

His lion had wanted to hire contractors to make his new house move in ready but he’d shook his head and gave the boy books on basic car and house maintenance. Together they sanded the floors, painted walls, and repaired them. They decided to hire a plumber and electrician for some of the more difficult tasks and Adrien contacted his pretty pigtailed friend for decorating advice and colors. The young woman also made some beautiful drapes for the windows.

The night of the housewarming party arrived and although there were less than ten guests Adrien was thrilled his true friends came to celebrate. He played host so his blond friend could mingle. The pigtailed girl had traded her pigtails for a cute bob and he gave her a nod of approval. Her returning smile was beautiful and confident. She’d grown into a fine lioness.

The party continued and everyone was a little tipsy. The girl with red hair and glasses was embarrassing her friend, Marinette, with a story of how the designer had tried everything in college to get his lion to notice her. Adrien laughed when his best friend told him he’d been an oblivious idiot back then.

The bodyguard had noticed. He always thought she would be a good match for Adrien once her shyness wore off.

The raven haired woman must have been more drunk than she realized because she began flirting with Adrien. The blond blushed but flirted back. The bodyguard pretended to drink to hide a smile.

“So um...this weekend...are you free? I wondered if you would like to go see a movie.”

The young man smiled. “An actual theater? How retro.” He grinned and asked, “Marinette, are you asking me out?”

She smiled back and the bodyguard could tell his friend was interested. Finally, “Would you say yes if I were?”

Adrien pretended to consider the question. “Hey, Dad,” he addressed the large man, “do we have plans this weekend?”

The man bit the inside of his cheek to keep from grinning. He loved it when Adrien called him “Dad”. He grunted and shook his head.

“Dude, you call your bodyguard, ‘Dad’?” a young man in headphones asked.

Adrien shrugged. “He’s not quite my bodyguard anymore. I don’t like calling him Gorilla any more. Plus, he’s a better dad than Gabriel.”

“Here! Here!” chorused the other partygoers.

Marinette raised her glass. “To Adrien’s dad! A much better parent than his biological father ever was.”

“Dad” fought a blush.

_ Three years later. _

One date turned into two and then steady dating followed by moving in together. Marinette now called him “Dad #2” and doted on him. She had opened her own boutique and launched a small but thriving designer line, doing a steady business on the internet and endorsed by several celebrities including her “Uncle” Jagged, Clara Nightingale and the Chamacks to name a few. She’d turned down an internship at Gabriel’s to do it but didn’t seem to regret it.

Gabriel Agreste never visited in person and the two visits conducted via tablet were almost as tense as they would have been in person. Adrien told the man he hated talking to a device and stormed over to the mansion to speak to his “father”. Adrien came back upset but took solace with his found family.

_ One year later. _

Marinette comes to him one day, as nervous and excited as she’d been at fourteen. She wants to propose to Adrien. She’s picked out a ring and has already designed bride and groom attire. He was impressed with her fabric choices and all the reasons she wants to marry Adrien. They’re sound reasons, truthful reasons. He looks straight into her hopeful face and shakes his head regretfully.

She slumps but doesn’t cry and gathers up her presentation before thanking him for his time.

_ One week later. _

It’s Marinette and Adrien’s anniversary and his lion hired a horse and carriage to take himself and his princess around Paris before having dinner at the restaurant near the top of the Eiffel Tower. When they come home there’s packages with Marinette’s name on them.

The first is a small package. It’s a new smartphone with two charms on it; a ladybug and a cat’s paw. She and Adrien grin knowingly at each other.

The second is a digital picture frame that displays pictures of various stages of their friends to lovers relationship, playing a different Kitty Section song depending on the age of the photo. She’s delighted at the cleverness.

The third box is huge and when she opens it confetti and balloons burst out. She yelps in surprise and playfully smacks Adrien when he laughs at her.

One of the balloons is red and black and has a ring box attached.

Her eyes fill with happy tears as Adrien grabs the box and drops to one knee before her. She wants to say yes before his lion can even make his speech but the large man gently shakes his head. She hears her boyfriend out and accepts with a hug and a kiss.

Marinette turns to her honorary dad and gives him a huge hug, thanking him for not letting her “ruin things.”

_ One year later. _

The ceremony is beautiful and the clothes worn by the bridal party are stunning enough to end up on the cover of Vogue Paris. Hawk Moth has seemingly retired and so no akuma shows up to ruin the big day. “Dad Dupres” wears a suit made of a fabric Marinette developed to be especially flexible and breathable for large men. He’s the ring bearer and guards the wedding jewelry like he once guarded a sweet faced toddler.

Everything is perfect, even with Gabriel and Nathalie Agreste’s intrusion. They don’t stay for the reception but do leave a gift. Nathalie looks stunning in the gown Marinette designed as a peace offering.

Many people make a toast but finally it’s Adrien’s turn. He waxes punny and poetical about his new wife and the friends he made his family. Finally he gets to the end.

“I especially want to thank a man who stepped up when I needed guidance. A man who helped me grieve, who always was proud of me. He was there when I received my doctorate and when I bought my house.” Adrien raised a glass and smiled at the large man. “To Dad Dupres!”

“To Dad Dupres!” Everyone choruses and drinks in his honor.

He doesn’t even try not to cry.

_ Two years later. _

“Dad Dupres” sits with his adopted son in the maternity waiting area. Adrien was gently asked to leave the delivery room when he kept hovering. It was all the man could do to keep his lion from pacing like he’d been caged. He’s a bundle of nerves for his wife and child.

Gabriel isn’t there and didn’t even bother to send Nathalie. Neither man cares. Dupres is convinced the other man wouldn’t know good parenting if it bit him on the gonads.

After four hours they hear a loud, healthy cry and leap up. A nurse comes to tell Adrien he has a daughter.

The tiny princess is as beautiful as her mother and has her father’s eyes. She’s sleeping now and Adrien is already planning all the fun daddy-daughter things they’ll do together.

Dupres is now a godfather and his “son” urges him to name his daughter.

He decides on Claudine Emelie.

_ Three years later. _

Little Emelie is soon joined by Sebastien Gabriel and Louis Nino. They love their giant grand-pere and climb him like a mountain. He gives him piggy back rides and spoon feeds them soup when they’re sick. He becomes the emergency contact if Marinette or Adrien aren’t available.

Dupres is aware the couple’s first son was named as a peace offering to Gabriel. He was the one to suggest it. The man himself does visit and brings clothes he designed as gifts. The visits are infrequent and a bit tense but the children are unfailingly polite to their visitor and wait until after he leaves to play pirates with Grand-pere. To them, he’s just the man Daddy and Grand-Pere used to work for. Adrien and Marienette text and email the man and send videos at holidays. Gabriel seems content with his second wife and even once tells his son he’s proud of him. Adrien cried for an hour afterwards in Dad Dupre’s arms. No one knows if they were sad or happy tears.

_ Two years later. _

It’s Christmas and Dupres has allowed his lovely daughter in law to dress him up as Santa. The children are delighted as he sets down his sack but the biggest surprise is when he shows off the gift he received earlier in the year from Adrien and Marinette.

Vocal cord surgery.

“Ho ho ho! Merry Christmas!”

  
  
  


**Author's Note:**

> Inspired by a series of posts by @lenoreofraven and @gothfoxx on Tumblr.
> 
> Fun Fact: I was listening to "You'll Be In My Heart" from Tarzan while writing this.


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